Method of constructing a cabinet



May 10, 1938 L. H. DARBYSHIRE 2,117,082

METHOD OF' GONSTRUGTING A CABINET l Original Filed Oct. 9, 1935 y Patented May l0, 1938 UNITED PATENTN OFFICE METHD F C'GNSTRUCTING li. CABINET Leonard H. Darbyshire, Detroit, Mich., assigner to Borg-Warner Corporation, a corporation of ois This invention relates to the construction of cabinets generally employed for refrigerating purposes and has particular relation to the outer wall, frame and supporting structure which such 5 cabinets ordinarily embrace, and to the method `of constructing and assembling thereof.

This application is a division of my application, SerialNo. 692,882, filed October 9, 1933, for Cabinet Design, now matured into Patent 1o 2,059,182 and reissued as Re. 20,610.

An object of the invention is to provide a cabinet which shall be easy to assemble, at-

tractive in appearance-and which can be manuf factured at a cost comparable with the cost of cabinets of other designs now being produced.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet for refrigeration purposes, the outer surface of which is covered by a shell embracing among other parts, a pair of end pieces or sections which are provided with flanged edge portions projecting inwardly toward the central portion of the cabinet upon the front and upper walls thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet having an outer shell portion formed to cover the surface thereof and embracing a pair of end sections connected at the top by a top panel covering only a portion of the upper surface of the cabinet with the remaining portion 39 of such surface being covered by inwardly projecting portions of the panels employed for covering the ends of the cabinet.

Another object of the invention is to provide` a new type of base or supporting legs for refrigera- 35 tors which will provide for the latter a more rigid support and at the same time will give to the appearance of the entire structure a. more massive and pleasing effect.

Another object of the invention is to provide 40 for a cabinet to be employed for refrigeration purposes, a support consisting of a pair of spaced legs having a connecting portion adjacent the upper extremities thereof which will not only provide a stiening element for the legs, but 45 will provide a substitute for a panel member which ordinarily has been embodied in the cabinet structure supported by the legs.

Another object of the invention is to provide a resilient separating member to be disposed be- 50 tween the lower surface of a cabinet employed in refrigeration purposes and one or more of the legs supporting the cabinet for the purpose of deadening the sound vibrations generated in the refrigerating mechanism employed in the cabinet i5 and which might otherwise bel transmitted through the cabinet legs to within the building in which the refrigerator is employed. 1 Another object of the invention is to provide a novel method of constructing and assembling cabinets of the type disclosed in this applica- 5 tion. 'Ihe embodiment of the invention disclosed for the purpose of illustration comprises generally a pair of end sections which, in the present instance, are formed from a single sheet of metal 1o by suitably constructed dies and each of which is provided with inwardly anged edge portions at the upper and the front and rear edge portions thereof. 'Ihe iianges at the front of the end sections aforesaid, project inwardly for the l5 purpose of covering the front surface of the cabinet beyond the door openings formed therein and at the upper extremities thereof, the flanged portions project inwardly to provide preferably a flush joint with an upper section, the forward `20 edge of which extends downwardly toward the aforesaiddoor openings and in such region provides for closing the space between the inwardly flanged front and upper portions of the end panels. 25

The refrigerator, if desired, may be provided with a frame of any suitable character, an insulated inner compartment for storing provisions, and a machine compartment for housing the refrigerating mechanism with which such cabinets ordinarily are provided. Any number of doors maybe employed for obtaining access to the interior of the refrigerated compartment and to the machine compartment employed therewith.

The legs, in the present instance, are formed of stamped sheet metal-and extend a considerable distance along the two sides of the cabinet adjacent each corner. The legs, however, may be formed of any suitable material and may be of any desired design. 40

At the front "of the cabinet there is employed .an elongated reinforcing panel which extends downwardly just below the front of the cabinet and fills the space between the two front legs. Rubber gaskets are employed between the anged upper portion of each of the legs and the lower parts of the cabinet adjacent thereto and between the front reinforcing panel and,V the legs and the lower part of the cabinet adjacent such panel.

It will be observed that a plurality of doors are employed on the front of the cabinet for the refrigerating and machine compartment and that such doors are so closely disposed together as to provide a substantially continuous' panel over the 55 entire front of the cabinet in the space within the border formed by the inwardly projecting front anges of the two side panels and the downwardly projecting front flange of the upper panel. This construction not only saves some of the material heretofore required in nlshing up' the front of a cabinet, but it contributes materially to the beauty and symmetry of the entire structure.

For a better understanding of the invention,

` reference may now be had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a cabinet structure embracing the principles of the invention herein dclosed;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the cabinet trguclt-ure illustrated in front elevational view by Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional View of the cabinet taken substantially in the plane of line 8 3 of Fig. l;

Fig. a is a fragmentary` horizontal sectional view of the cabinet taken substantially in the plane of line 6-4 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows thereon;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken at one of the upper corners of the refrigerator and substantially in the plane of line 5 5 of Fig. l;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of line @-5 oi Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken through the cross-frame structure at the lower front part of the insulated compartment formed in the re frigerator and illustrating the structure as it would appear substantially in the plane of line l-'i oi' Fig. l;

Fig. t is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially in the plane of line of Fig. i; an

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of the base and a lower portion of the cabinet structure to which the basel is secured, the view being aex; substantially in the plane of line il of The cabinet I@ employed in practicing the invention consists generally of a pair of side walls i i and i2, an upper wall i3, an intermediate wall or lower refrigerating compartment wall id and a rear wall i6. Inside the two walls ii and i2 and between the lower wall lil and the upper wall it, there is formedva heat insulated refrigerating compartment il, and beneath the wall id and between the walls ii and i2, there is a machine compartment i in which the condensing unit (not shown) for the refrigerating` mechanism is shown. The walls of the refrigeratixg compartment Il are provided with thick insulating slabs of any suitable character, and the walls of the machine compartment I8 are provided, if desired, with relatively thin sound-absorbing slabs for damping out the vibrations and noises originating in the refrlgerating mechanism located therein.

The refrlgerating compartment il' may have one or more doors such as those indicated at 2| and 22. When two doors are employed, as in the present instance, there generally is. provided a center post or pilaster, such as that indicated at 2i, i'or enclosing the space between the doors and providing a solid obstruction against which the inner edges of the doors are supported.` These doors normally are heat insulated, as are the remainder of the walls of the reirigeatig 00mpartment I1. The front oi the machine compartment i8 is enclosed by a door 24' which is substantially vof the same width as are the two doors`22 and 2|, and the upper edge of the door is spaced beneath the lower edges of the doors 2i and 22 by such a slight distance as to give the entire front of the cabinet the appearance of being covered by a unitarypanel. Considering these doors as a unitary panel indicated general- ,ly at 26, it will be observed that the spaces beyond the sides of the panel at the Upper and side extremities thereof, are substantially equal. It also will be observed that the space between the two doors 2i and 22 is substantially of the same width as the space between the lower edges of the two doors 2i and 22 and theupper edge of the machine compartment door 2l.

The entire cabinet structure is supported by a base 21 consisting of front sections 2B supporting the front of the cabinet, and a pair of sections or legs 29 supporting the rear of the cabinet.

In orde` to provide a supporting structure for the several walls of the cabinet I0, there is employed internally thereof, a frame 3l, the front portion of which is formed around the front of the cabinet to provide a door frame 32 through which the insulated refrigerating compartment I1 in the partment it are relieved to provide a. widely rounded edge indicated at 3l, so that the exterior covering of the cabinet can be formed with the desired contour in suchregions. At the upper corners of the cabinet there are also a pair of rearwardly extended frame members indicated at M and the upper outer corners of which are rounded as indicated at 33, to provide clearance for permitting the formation of the outer shell of the cabinet in such regions to provide the desired contour. v

The rear of the cabinet is supported by a rear frame indicated at 38, consisting of a pair of vertical side members 31 and cross members arranged at points between the two for giving the frame the proper strength and rigidity. Various other cross members are provided between the front and rear frames 3l and 38 for the purpose thereabout and within the walls of the cabinet,

there is disposed an inner shell or tank member 39, and the front edges of which are provided with iianges indicated at 4i, which are secured to the inside edge of the front frame 3i around the door opening iormedl therein.

Outside oi' the tank 39 and between the frame members thereabout, there are employedy slabs of heat insulating material indicated at 42, which tend to materially reduce the ilow of heat between the interior and the exterior of the cabinet.

A top sub-panel 82, of wood or any other suitable reinforcing material, is disposed above the insulating material 42 on the top of the container 39 and is secured between the front, side, and rear top frame members and supported thereby in such a manner that the upper surface is flush with that or said frame members. Sub-panel 62 is cut away at the side edges thereof to provide a groove extending across the top of the frame and which is adapted to receive anges provided on the ton and side panels of the cabinet. v

For covering the exterior of the cabinet, there 2,117,082 is employed an outer shell or covering indicated generally at 43 and consisting principally of a pair of side panels 44 and 46, an upper panel 41 and a rear panel 46. The two side or end panels 44 and 46 extend from top to bottom of the cabinet, along the sides of the machine compartment Il and the refrigerating compartment I1, and not only cover the two walls of the cabinet at the sides thereof, but also cover portions of the front, top and back walls of the-cabinet inside the in wardly projecting front, top and rear flanges 49, 5i and 52 thereof. These panels preferably are made of sheet metal and shaped in a die, suitable for the purpose, although it is apparent that they can be formed of any desired material and by any suitable process. 'I'h' inner edges of the front flanges 49 are formed with securing flanges 53 which extend inwardly of the opening to the refrigerating compartment i1 and are secured to the inner edges of the door frame 3l directly opposite the flanges 4I formed on the inner shell or `tank 39. All of the anges, such as are indicated at Hand 53, are covered by trim strips indicated at 54, which 4are secured to the inner surface of the door frame 32 by screws 56. y

The top flanges 5i and also the front edge of the front flanges 49 down to the door opening in the cabinet, are provided with inwardly projecting securing flanges indicated at 51, which project into grooves formed in the insulating material and the frame of the cabinet in regionsadjacent thereto.

The side panels 44 and 46 are put on the walls of the cabinet by first inserting the securing flanges 53 inside the door opening and holding the remainder thereof away from the cabinet and upwardly beyond the normal position thereof, to such an extent that the upper securing flanges 51 are free to move above the upper surface of the cabinet. From this position, the sections are pivoted inwardly upon the anges 53 until the sides of the tcabinet are engaged by the inward surfaces thereof, and the flange 52 is in position upon the rear cabinet wall. When the panels are in this position, the anges 51 are immediately above the grooves formed in the top of the cabinet and may thereafter be inserted therein simply by allowing the panels to slide downwardly upon the cabinet side walls. In order to prevent the panels from rattling or from becoming displaced upon the frame, any number of screws, indicated at 6 i may be employed along the rear and upper edges of the panels to secure them in position. i

The top panel 41, which, in the present instance, is substantially of the same cross sectional contour as are the two side panels 44 and 46, also has a front flange -63 projecting downwardly across the front of the cabinet and into the door opening space therein and the lower end of which is provided with an inwardly projecting securing flange 64, which is adapted to be secured around the lower surface of the upper section of the door frame 32. The rear edge of the top panel 41 also is turned downwardly, asis indicated at 66, for the purpose of engaging a portion of the back of the cabinet, as do the rear flanges 52 on the side panels 44 and 46. The opposite edges of the upper panel 41 are turned downwardly and inwardly across the top and front and rear sections thereofl respectively and as is indicated at 61, to provide securing flanges 61 which are adapted to extend downwardly into the grooves formed in the top, front and rear of the cabinet and into which the securing flanges 51 also project.

When the upper panel 41 is in position upon `the upper surface of the cabinet, the flanges 61 are spaced a short distance from the iianges 51 located directly oppositely thereto, to provide spaces for receivingresilient gaskets 69. These gaskets, which may be formed of any suitable kind of soft and resilient material, are preferably formed with an outer meet portion 1I and an inner lock portion 12, which is adapted to project around the inner extremities of the flanges 61 and between which portions there is provided a web portion 13 which is adapted to retain the flanges 51 and 61 in properly spaced relation. The

uppervpanel 41 is placed in position somewhat like the side panels 44 and 46, by inserting the securing flange 64 beneath the lower edge of the upper member of the frame 32 and then moving the rear of the panel downwardly until the rear flange 66 is-in position beside the flanges 51. The gasket 69 is placed in position upon the flanges ilbefore the top panel is moved into position, and consequently the gaskets slide downwardly into position betweenethe flanges 51 and 61 as the top is moved into place.

It will be observed that the cabinet has the appearance, from the front sides and top thereof, of being constructed principally of three pieces consisting of the side panels 44, 46 and the top panel 41 and a plurality of doors covering substantially the entire front of the cabinet except for the space thereabout formed by the front flange portion ofthe top and two sides aforementioned. The top panel 41 is so formed and moved into position as to form substantially flush joints with the upper extremities of the two end panels 44 and 46, thus giving the cabinet a pleasing appearance characterized by a classic simplicity of design. v

'I'he back of the cabinet can be covered by an ordinary flat covering such as that indicated at `46, and the outer edges of which are secured in any suitable manner inside the flanges 52 of the side panels 44 and 46 and the flange 6E of the top panel 41.

In the present instance, the doors 2l and 22 of the refrigerating compartment l1 and the door 24 of the machine compartment I8 are positioned in such manner as to extend outwardly a slight distance down the front of the cabinet to provide an outwardly projecting paneled effect, although' it is apparent that the doors may be put on in any other desired manner without materially changing the appearance of the entire structure.

The base 21, consisting of the front section 28 and the two rear sections 29, normally is secured upon inwardly projecting flanges 16 formed along the upper edges of the parts, and between theseiianges and the cabinet there are disposed a plurality of beaded rubber gasket sections indicated generally at 11. The front section 28 of the base consists of a pair of massive legs 19 and 8l, and between which there is connected, with suitable rubber gaskets 82 and 83 at opposite ends thereof, a spacing panel or skirt B4. Adjacent the central portion of the panel 84 there is formed, outwardly from the rest of thesurface thereof, a projection 86, the surface of which is set atv an'angle to the vertical surface of the cabinet and base adjacent thereto, to provide a region where the name of the productv may be easily seen by anyone standing in front of the cabinet and looking' downwardly. The spacing panel 84 is secured to the adjacent edges of the legs 19 and 8l by bolts 81 which are adapted to compress the gaskets 82 and 83 between flanges 89 and si formed at the adjacent edges of the aforesaid parts. It is preferable to provide practically all of the edges of the two legs 29, the legs 19 and 8|, and the spacing panel 84, with rearwardly extending iianges on both the upper and lower extremities thereof and on intermediate edges therebetween, in order to provide thek base structure with adequate structural strength and in addition, to give the entire base a rugged and massive appearance. Where the doors on the front of the cabinet project outwardly thereof, as do the doors in the cabinet i0, disclosed herein, it may be desirable to provide the front face section with a forwardly projecting portion indicated ,at 93, in the region thereof just below the lower edge of the machine.

compartment door 24. This position of the space carries out the general `paneled effect formed by the doors in the front surface of the cabinet and prevents the doors from having the appearance of overhanging the base.

The frame structure, insulation, inner and outer coverings, the doors and the base, all may be manufactured as separate units and assembled in production in such manner that any part may be taken off and replaced, in the event it should appear defective or become damaged in any way. For cooling the refrigerating compartment of the cabinet, any desired type of refrigerating mechanism maybe employed, and the heat dissipating unit for which may be located in the machine compartmentv of the cabinet or wherever else desired.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific features of the structure disclosed, but is to be considered broadly as is represented by the scope of the appended claims.

1. The method of constructing a heat insulated cabinet, having a top wall, an end wall and a front wall the latter being provided with a door opening therein, which comprises forming grooves in said top and front walls substantially in alignment with one of the edges of said door opening, forming an end panel member to provide a continuous flange extending laterally thereon for covering a portion of said top .and front walls in addition to said end Wall and securing flanges extending inwardly from the extremities of said covering flanges for engagement within said grooves and door opening, then inserting said front securing flange in said door yopening with said upper covering flange elevated above said top wall to permit free movement of said top securing flange across said top wall, then moving said panel angularly until the inner surface thereof engages the outer surface of said end wall, and then sliding said panel downwardly until said top securing ilange is confined within a grooved portion of the surface ioi' said upper wall.

2. 'I'he method Vof constructing a cabinet which consists in forming a substantially rigid frame work having a top wall, an end wall, a front wall provided with a door opening therein, and a three sided corner forming at the juncturel of said walls, forming grooves in said top and front walls substantially in alignment with one of the edges of said door opening, forming an end panel member to provide a continuous iange extending laterally thereof for covering a portion of the top and front walls and the three sided corner in addition to the end wall and seeming anges extending inwardly from the extremities of said covering flanges for engagement with said grooves and door opening, then inserting said front seeming ange in said door opening with said upper covering flange elevated above said top wall to permit free movement of said top securing frame across said top wall, then moving said panel member angularly until the inner surface thereof engages the outer surface of said outer wall, and then sliding said panel downwardly until said top securing flange is confined within a grooved portion of the surface of said upper wall.

3. The method of constructing a heat insulated cabinet having a top wall, an end wall and a front wall which comprises providing securing grooves in said top and front walls, forming an end panel member to provide a continuous flange extending laterally thereon for covering a portion of said top and front walls in addition to said end wall and securing flanges extending inwardly from the extremities of said covering flanges for engagement with said securing grooves, then inserting said front securing ange in said front wall securing groove with said top wall covering flange elevated above said top wall to permit free movement of said topsecuring flange across said top wall, then moving said panel member angularly until the inner surface thereof engages the outer surface of said end wall, and then sliding said panel downwardly until said top securing flange is engaged with said securing groove of said top wall.

LEONARD H. DAR'BYSHIRE. 

